


Teddy Bear

by mindhunter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Babies, Domestic Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, M/M, Parent Harry, Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, Wandless Magic, baby fever, like paint drying except slower, very slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 01:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14843273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindhunter/pseuds/mindhunter
Summary: Without a noseless, fascist Dark Lord breathing down his neck, Harry Potter doesn't know what to do with his life. That is, until Andromeda has an incident and he's left caring for his godson.





	Teddy Bear

Harry stared at the bundle in his arms, his gaze snapping from the witch in front of him to the baby and back again.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes wide with disbelief. He loved his godson dearly - even if the little guy was only a few months old - but he knew how much Andromeda adored him, caring for him as if he were her own - which, in a sense, he was. He knew Andromeda saw Tonks in the baby and he could only imagine how much pain the woman was in, not only because of her hip, but because she was surrendering her last connection to her beloved daughter. 

"I am," she murmured somberly, tenderly grazing the baby's head with the back of her hand. Harry could've sworn he saw sadness in her eyes before they turned to their normal, detached gaze. "He's going to need someone able to keep up with him." 

"But-"

"Of course, I'll visit frequently - he is my only grandson, mind you - but I can't possibly take care of him any longer. Not in my condition," she sniffed, looking at Harry pleadingly. Well, as pleadingly as it could get from a pair of cold, closed off eyes; but Harry couldn't begrudge her - she had grown up in a strict Pureblood household, after all. 

"I understand," he said, his voice a near whisper from the shock of it all. Harry didn't have many objections to the change other than the effect it would have on Andromeda. He didn't have many other things going on that would prevent him from caring for Teddy, other than the occasional speech or lunch at the Burrow. Even his best friends had things occupying them, Hermione working to restore her parents' memory and Ron following her like the lovesick fool he was. 

He had been so bored that he took to renovating the ancient Black home, which, even Kreacher had appreciated. Harry could still recall the way he'd shown off his new cupboard for a week after they'd been put in, going as far as to organize his sparse belongings daily. Some of the old features remained - and Sirius's room remained untouched - but for the most part, the house was now a thing of beauty and warmth. 

That, Harry mused, must have been the final nail in the coffin for Andy; she never would've let Harry raise Teddy in the dismal state the house had been in. 

Harry wasn't scared of having to care for Teddy - he had spent many weekends looking after the newborn, learning how to change a diaper without getting pissed on (a lesson he would never forget), how to feed him, and basically how to care for him. 

But this was vastly different from seeing Teddy for a few hours at a time. He would be living with Harry. _D_ _epending_ on Harry. 

The pressure of it wasn't enough to deter him, however. He had defeated Voldemort for Merlin's sake, raising Teddy would be a walk in the park.

He could handle taking care of a baby. 

~

"No," Harry stated.

"You're not going to get me to give in," he warned.

"I'm telling you, it's useless, you might as well give up now." 

Harry sat on the tube with Teddy in his lap, the baby's feet resting lightly on his abdomen as Harry held him steady to look him in the eye. 

"Don't give me those eyes," he groaned, taking note of the green eyes that suspiciously looked like his. Blasted baby already learning how to manipulate his guardian. 

Harry wouldn't be surprised if the tot was sorted into Slytherin, what with his affinity to deceive and do anything to get his way. And to think he was only 4 months old. 

Yet again, Teddy reached his chubby little fists toward Harry's neck, launching his little body forward on his mission to getting the necklace that rested against Harry's collarbone. Smiling bemusedly, Harry just lifted him up and turned him, his back now resting against Harry's chest. 

As he tugged down Teddy's hat over his ears, he noticed a woman a few seats down, smiling fondly at Harry and his godson. He gave her a tentative smile before turning his attention back to the squirming baby on his lap, not keen on witnessing a tantrum just 20 minutes into their new life together. 

He pulled out Teddy's stuffed bear from his bag and began to bounce him around, his heart swelling when Teddy giggled. He made the bear kiss Teddy's cheeks and dance and bounce before Teddy reached out, hugging the bear to him and putting its paw into his mouth. Crisis averted.

Ha. This was easier than he thought it would be. 

~

"Please, I'll give you all the gold in my vaults if you'll just _stop_ ," he begged, near tears with frustration. It was nearly 3 in the morning and Teddy was wailing incessantly, his hair red just like his chubby little cheeks were. 

Harry had done everything he could think of: he had changed his diaper, given him milk, tried his pacifier, read to him, rocked with him in his arms, and though some of his methods worked for a bit, his godson would not stop screaming bloody murder. One bloody day in and he was ready to admit his failure. Maybe he should never be a father, either, if it was going to go as well as this. 

Eventually, even Kreacher took pity on him and had hobbled into the room, handing him Sirius's old guitar and telling him to make himself useful. 

Harry would have taken orders from Voldemort at that point, as desperate as he was. Tiredly, he took the guitar and began to strum the notes to some song he'd heard on the wireless, warily glancing at his ancient house elf every few chords. 

Kreacher, to his credit, only crinkled his nose in disgust before pushing Teddy onto his back carefully and rocking the crib gently. Eventually, the sobs that had been wracking his body ceased and only the occasional hiccup and sniffle could be heard from the baby's bed. 

Some 15 minutes later, Harry quietly tiptoed out of the room; his eyes were heavy and he had felt near tears but his ears were grateful for the reprieve. 

Harry could've kissed the brilliant elf in that moment. 

~

The next day, Harry found out that Teddy _did not_ like silence. He hadn't noticed it before, but he realized that Andromeda's house was always bustling with noise. Her three house elves were constantly making noise and she had developed a certain affinity for listening to the wireless. 

Which made Harry realize how quiet his own house was. Kreacher was a relatively quiet elf, his footsteps more along the lines of slow shuffling as he made his way around the house, his new pillowcase dragging behind him. Granted, he still grumbled about everything under the bloody sun but he wouldn't have been Kreacher without it. 

So Harry, ever the gracious host, had charmed some of the rooms to play music while he and Teddy were in them, much to the child's glee. 

Another thing Teddy seemed to loath was sitting for long periods of time. This was discovered while Harry was cooking lunch - much to Kreacher's dismay - and Teddy began to fuss in his seat, growing more red and agitated by the second. 

After wiping his hands on a washcloth, he leaned down in front of the fussy infant and frowned, watching him slam his hands on the little table attached to his high chair. 

The smell of smoke had Harry standing, picking Teddy up after a second as to avoid the screeches he had been subjected to the night before. He cast a mild protective shield over Teddy, who seemed delighted in being carried around the kitchen as Harry struggled to finish the meal with one hand. 

At one point, the music changed, the song a sweet Muggle tune which had Teddy bouncing excitedly, his little body jerking crazily as he giggled and gurgled at Harry. 

Teddy's laughter soon had Harry chuckling as well as he joined the infant in their horrible dancing, Harry twirling the little baby around the kitchen, turning in circles and bouncing him around until the song ended. 

From then on, Harry wore a sling over his chest, Teddy pressed snug against his torso as he cooked their lunch and dinner. 

~

It wasn't until the following weekend that Harry saw Andromeda. 

She had requested his presence in the little cottage where she lived and Harry had obliged, strapping Teddy to his chest before they stepped into the floo. 

"-and then I said to her, 'Well, you're obviously better off getting engaged to a troll if you dare refuse _my_ Draco,'" a faint voice drawled, a voice he recognized as Narcissa Malfoy's. 

"Absolutely! Does this Greengrass witch not - Oh, Harry, what a nice _surprise_!" Andromeda said, feigning surprise as Harry stepped into the living room where they were situated. Teddy smacked his lips and sighed, oblivious to the people in the room, one of his tiny hands splayed across Harry's chest, the other gripping his shirt tightly. 

Harry scanned the room briefly, not surprised to see Narcissa sitting across from her sister, but a little disconcerted at seeing Draco sodding Malfoy sitting next to his mother. He smiled thinly at Andromeda, immediately seeing through her ploy - 3 Slytherins ganging up on the poor unsuspecting Gryffindor and his baby. 

"Ah yes, I thought it would be nice for Teddy to see his grandmother but since you're otherwise occupied, I'm sure we could stop by another time," Harry smiled pleasantly, relishing in the way Andy's eyes flashed for a second. He was already taking a step backward when the older woman's voice cut through the unnaturally silent air.

"Nonsense, come join us," Andromeda said pleasantly, her voice leaving no room for objections. Clearly, she had seen through Harry's hasty attempt to leave. 

Throughout his interaction, Teddy had remained silent, his gaze intensely focused on the little digits that were attached to his hand. Clearly the infant was having the time of his life discovering his fingers for the hundredth time that week. 

As he approached the couches warily, the trio stood up and he went through the slightly formal greeting process, hugging Narcissa lightly, mindful of the infant between them. 

Between his weekend visits and infrequent weekday visits, Harry had been forced to interact with Narcissa and had grudgingly come to accept that he respected and _liked_ the woman. 

Their interactions had been severely awkward and stilted in the beginning until one day, Harry found that he didn't mind listening to her advice when it came to Teddy. In fact, he didn't mind her much at all. She was cold and detached, but he could often see a sliver of warmth in her icy blue eyes whenever she gazed at her great nephew. 

And sometimes, he thought he could see some of that warmth directed at him too. Maybe it was his orphan tendency to latch onto any maternal figure but she didn't seem like a threat to Harry. 

Of course, it had helped that she had slowly regaled him with her side of the story - the abuse under Lucius, the fear under the Dark Lord, her silent support of Harry. It seemed too... _good_ to be true but there was an air of sincerity that had surrounded the conversation that Harry had clung onto intent as he was to believe her.

It made sense in a way: Narcissa going along with everything to protect Draco, Draco going along with everything to protect his mother. And Lucius... well Lucius was Lucius. 

When they finally settled back into their seats, Harry began to unbuckle Teddy, cooing softly at the baby for having behaved so well. 

He didn't realize everyone was looking at him until a few moments later when he glanced up after helping Teddy into his favored position against Harry's chest. 

"Harry..." Andromeda began, looking a mixture of confused and amazed. "Teddy looks - he looks exactly like you," she murmured finally. Harry glanced down and sure enough, Teddy was staring up at him with bright green eyes, his soft baby hair a dark color just like Harry's. Had he had a little lightning bolt scar, Harry would've thought he was holding the baby version of himself. 

"Er, yes?" He wasn't quite sure what the fuss was about. It was no surprise that Teddy would be a metamorphmagus just like Tonks had been. It was silent for a few minutes as Harry settled Teddy, bouncing him in his lap and waiting for someone to explain why he was being gawked at. 

" _Christ_ Potter, are you really that daft? Metamorphagi can't change until they're at least 5 years old," Draco drawled.

Harry frowned. 

"But..." he gnawed on his lower lip, looking down at his godson, "I- he's looked like this nearly all week!" He said nearly because, well, Teddy's hair was prone to change along with his mood. 

Yet another thing Harry figured was normal. 

How was he supposed to know what was normal and what wasn't? He had literally been taken from his life as a Muggle and thrust into an entirely foreign place before he had even reached puberty. Of course there were things he still didn't know, despite what the rest of the wizarding world thought. 

Did that mean there was something wrong with Teddy? Had he already failed him as his guardian just a week into his care? Probably noticing his inner panic, Narcissa spoke up. 

"You mustn't fret, Harry," she said. "I'm sure there's a perfectly normal explanation." 

They all looked toward the dark haired baby who was now bouncing happily on his grandmother's lap. 

"His healer is currently out on maternity leave, I'm afraid," Harry confessed. He was already formulating his plan to owl Hermione - even if the reply took far longer than he'd like.

"Draco's friend is actually a healer. He specializes in children, does he not?" Narcissa asked, turning to Draco with one elegant eyebrow raised, as if daring him to say otherwise. 

"Yes." Even to Harry, the answer sounded strained, almost as if Draco didn't want to admit it. 

"Perfect. It's settled. You can stop by the manor tomorrow at say, noon."

~

The next day found Harry and Draco in the waiting room of a private clinic, waiting for Draco's friend to finish up with his last patient. 

"So how do you know this guy?" Harry asked conversationally. He was tired of the awkward silence and as amazing as Teddy was, he still lacked the ability to hold an intelligent conversation. That and he was currently examining his fingers again, the little elephant pacifier he had been playing with earlier back in his mouth. Draco inhaled sharply, as if he was already annoyed with the conversation.

Git.

"Luca? He family lived in the house next to ours in Versailles. He came to England as soon as he finished his schooling," Draco explained. His tone wasn't exactly friendly but as polite as he could get it considering their history. 

Things between them were weird. They no longer hated each other, but they didn't seek each other out either. They saw each other fairly often, what with Teddy in the picture and Harry's newfound relationship with Narcissa. But they weren't friends. 

Harry didn't mind their new, tense truce but he found himself missing the banter he shared with Malfoy. Even when he was being a right twit, he was entertaining. 

A few silent minutes later, the door opened and a somewhat short man walked out, his brown eyes twinkling when he laid eyes on Harry and his godson. 

"Draco, why I 'aven't seen you in years," Luca greeted with a light French accent, extending a hand to his friend. Draco took it though Harry could see his nose crinkle up in disdain. Perhaps they weren't as good friends as Narcissa made them sound. 

They followed the man into an examining room and he immediately launched into the backstory, telling him their concerns. The infant in question merely looked at Harry curiously, the pacifier moving in his pouted mouth. Yet again, his heart melted for his godson. 

"Well. This is zertainly unusual," Luca murmured, moving around Teddy to wave his wand at the baby's tummy. 

From what he could tell, Luca was incredibly kind - something that shocked Harry greatly, considering he was Draco's friend. He was young yet seemed quite experienced and that put Harry at ease somewhat.

"Ahh, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm guessing that your magical powers were likely a factor in this," the healer explained, addressing Harry. "Metamorphagi usually only need to concentrate to change their features, he was looking at you when his eyes first changed, yes?" Harry nodded. 

"But aren't they usually older?" Harry questioned anxiously. He was holding Teddy up on the tiny examining table, the infant watching curiously between the two adults talking.

The baby still looked like him, of course.

"Well, yes. But as I said, it may have to do with your magical powers. It could be due to other factors, but rest assured, there is nothing wrong with little Theodore. You just have an exceptional baby, Mr. Potter," the wizard said, smiling at him kindly. 

Harry flushed lightly, not sure how to take the compliment from the very handsome man before him. Before he could formulate a reply, Draco was interjecting.

"There's nothing to be worried about then?" Draco clarified sharply, looking at his friend. 

"Nothing at all," he assured, turning his smile back on Harry. While Harry fussed with Teddy and made sure he had everything he needed, Luca went to his desk, scribbling something onto a piece of paper.

"If anything else comes up, feel free to floo me. I took the liberty of writing my number down as well - I nearly always have my mobile," he explained, his smile returning again as Harry felt his cheeks heat up. 

"Er, thank you. I- I'll keep that in mind," he nodded, but long slender fingers took hold of the card instead.

"Yes, thank you, we'll keep that in mind. Shall we?" Draco asked coolly, leveling Harry with a gaze that rivaled Narcissa's. 

He had no choice but to gather the baby and follow Draco out of the room, shooting one last thank you at the healer. 

~

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments keep Teddy happy ;))


End file.
